Synopsis: "Michael has returned to the quiet Appalachian home of his forebears "following a suicide attempt and now takes care of his grandmother—old and sickly but with an important story to tell about growing up poor and Melungeon (a mixed race group of mysterious origin) while bedeviled by a snake-handling uncle and empathic powers she but barely understands. In a field not far from the Gibson family home lies an iron-bound crate within a small shack buried four feet deep under Kudzu vine. Michael somehow understands that hidden inside that crate is potentially his own death, his grandmother's death, and perhaps the deaths of everyone in the valley if he does not come to understand her story well enough." – quoted from this book's product page on Amazon.com as of 2016-10-26.